Sand and hiding places

[WateryWorld]

My 20 gallon should soon be empty, and I am thinking of using it for the school of loaches I want. (May get a bigger tank for them later.) Can the 20 handle two schools of 5, if they are the type that only gets to 4"?

Is it more fun to have two schools in one tank versus having two schools separate -- do they interact at all in good interesting ways?

I am thinking of giving them 5-7" of sand at the bottom, would they like that more than having the usual 3-4"? Would it be bad for me because they would hide more often?

If they get a lot of sand do they still need a half dozen hiding places? Can the hiding places be just little formations I make from rocks/slate?

[fabsroman]

I would think that a 20 is way too small for 10 loaches, even if they are the 4" variety. That is 40 inches of fish in that tank. Maybe, just maybe, if you have some great filtration you might be able to pull it off.

Regardless of how much sand you put in the tank, you are still going to have to create hiding places for the loaches. Rocks and slate will be just fine as long as it gives them enough places to hide. Remember that you are shooting for 10 loaches, and each and every one of them will need a place to hang out.

Another thing to think about regarding the sand is that the more of it you put in the tank, the less water there will be in the tank. So, nitrates could build up pretty quickly.

[WateryWorld]

I think that in another thread people were talking about having 20-24+ loaches in a 30 gal... dunno. One school would be cool, I might not want more in that tank anyway, because I do want to have more than just loaches. Will see... I'll likely conclude that I must get a bigger tank LOL!

[fishorama]

You could probably do kuhli (pangio) loaches of 2 kinds. But botias would need more room. I have a 20g long quarantine tank with 1.25 inch histrionicas (5 babies) & 7 .5 inch savonas but it's only short term.

Have you thought of sids, y. sidthimunki? They stay small ~2 inches, they're fun.The schistura savonas I just got stay even smaller but might be hard to find. To me it's more fun to have a bigger group of 1 species than the minimun of more.

You could try 1 species of the slower growing botias like striatas. I have some I got around an inch & after 2 years in a 75g none are bigger than 2.5 inches at best. Yoyos grow much faster, up to 3 or 4 inches in ~1 year, not a good choice.

You don't need deep sand, in fact I'd worry about anaerobic pockets. & yes, they need lots of hiding places, I use rocks, slate & driftwood.

There are 40g tanks in 2 standard shapes. 40 breeders are 36 x 18 I think & 40 longs are 48 x 12, like a 55g but shorter.

[WateryWorld]

Good info... I will consider getting around 8 of the pangio and then around 8 of ones that will be only 2"... when I get the bigger tank set up.

[fishorama]

Those 2 kinds of loaches probably would't make the best tankmates. The sids are a bit rowdy & like more water current, the pangios more shy from slower areas.

8-12 of mixed kuhlis & still have room for a school of rasboras or smaller tetras. The schools help make the loaches less shy, so called "dither" fish.

Be careful-- loaches are addictive :evil_lol:

[WateryWorld]

Are there any smaller loaches that can mix with the kuhlis? I think I would like two types, schools of 8. I love the colorful ones.

It's funny because I feel like I am already addicted to loaches, without having even seen them ever. Just from hearing how fun they are, and seeing some of the cool colorful ones. They are the reason I want to set up a new tank, lol. I am planning to get one that is 37-46 gal.

[fishorama]

If you're going to get a bigger tank you could get 6-8 sids now & add 5-6 striatas, kubotai or histrionicas after you go bigger. I have sids & striatas in a 75g.They get along fine & even share a couple hiding spots but don't really "play" together that much.

The kuhlis probably wouldn't compete well for food with botias. These new savonas were pretty placid at the store hanging out in plants & open areas. But in the Q tank they are very active doing the "loachy dance" with 1 or 2 of the histies.

Be careful though, most loaches in the schistura genus can be territorial with each other & often everyone else.

I have vaillantella maassi, fork tailed loaches, with kuhlis but they're similar shape & not too common.